verdict

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈvɜː.dɪkt/, US /ˈvɝː.dɪkt/^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of Middle English verdit,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman verdit (“sworn testimony, judgment”) (Old French voirdit), literally a true saying,^[3][2][4] from ver, veir, true (from Latin vērum) and dit, said (from Latin dictum, from dīcere, to say; see diction).^[2][3][5] The spelling with -ct, current from the 16th century, was influenced by Medieval Latin vērdictum, vērēdictum.^[2][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The decision of a jury in a case: 1297 in the OED, about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^[7][2][3]

Semantic evolution

A judgement given by an authority acting as a jury is from about 1381,^[7] and a decision or opinion on any matter from about 1386 (the late 14th century),^[7][3] when it was still verdit, a form Milton used.^[3] The spelling verdict is from 1533.^[2] An open verdict of a coroner is from 1607.^[7] After the Norman Conquest French was the language of English law, and verdict is one of many legal terms from it.^[8]

Timeline

• 1297 – a jury's decision.^[7]
• c. 1386 – an opinion.^[7]
• 1533 – the spelling verdict.^[2]
• 1607 – open verdict.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The finding of a jury in a trial.
2. Any decision, judgement or opinion.

Word family

• directed verdict
• Scotch verdict

Related words

• verify
• veritable
• very
• diction
• dictum

Usage notes

In Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Somerset dialect, the word survived as vardit or vardy, an opinion.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)